FOX is giving Fringe the low-budget promo treatment by way of "viral" marketing, that Variety has dubbed, a major marketing push. The Variety story notes that there's both an off-air and on-air push, but the on-air push seems to be this week's show itself, plus inserting subliminal images of the observer in its Thursday night programming this week.
According to the Variety article Fox marketing chief Joe Earley is hoping a few more viewers will watch live, or at least within 3 days.
FOX will also be sending people dressed up as the observer out into the streets in a few cities (L.A., NY, Boston, Chicago, and Atlanta) who will be handing out Tabasco sauce (the Fringe faithful know that the Observers love them some spicy food).
Our experience has been these type of stunts don't translate to ratings. We'll find out Friday morning.
This Thursday is final Thursday of the November sweeps period.
I just read about this on variety. Who knows if viewers will come, I hope so for FOX’s case. It shows that they really want 2 save Fringe. I think it has a good chance for a third year, if FOX feels that they want to do anything to save it.
it shows they really want to save Fringe? this costs almost nothing. Spending a lot of money might show me they really wanted to save Fringe. Spending almost nothing suggests to me it would like Fringe to save itself.
Maybe FOX doesnt want to spend a lot. They have 24 and Idol for Jan, so FOX may not be too worried about Fringe. But I hope even aginst CSI, Grey’s and Office/30 Rock Fringe holds up. Its hard when your a lower rated relatively new series aginst the 3 other networks highest rated scripted series.
Was not there something about this last year? I am sure that I remember something about this before.
Ah here is something..
http://www.buzzsugar.com/3042740
Do any of these gimmicky stunts ever boost ratings? I mean, if some dude came up to me and offered me Tabasco sauce in public, I’d just smile and nod and back away from him because I’d think him to be a weirdo.
Readin between the lines you can see it is in danger of cancellation:
“The hope is we get a few more viewers watching the show live,” Earley said. “Or at least watching it within three days of air. The show is too good, and we want to continue to support it.”
Tar, that was my read: at least a little bit of danger.
Move the show if your so afraid it will fail FOX!!!
CSI, Grey, and The Office are just too much.
I’m bracing myself for the embittered Dollhouse and TSCC fans.
Yes they are not spending a lot of money but that’s not a bad thing. I think it’s a good sign that Fox is paying attention to it. It could ignore it and hope it does better. They realize the quality of the show and they are trying to open it up to new viewers. The problem is Fringe has all it’s viewers it’s really going to get. People still watch the show but they watch it taped, on Hulu, DVR’d etc.. because of the time it’s on. Move the show, improve the ratings. The question is what would do better in that time slot and cost less money than Fringe?
Kind of a corny approach to saving a show don’t you think? This gimmick has the same look and feel of other networks, which shall not be named, when they tout their shows as “quiet successes” and yet do little to actually try and save them.
Michael J, I don’t recall Fox claiming shows were quiet successes, but ABC certainly has.
Bill, I think Michael’s point was handing people hot sauce on the street and encouraging them to use the pause button on their DVRs to find the subliminal still frames is on the same level as whispering sweet nothings into Nikki Finke’s ears.
Perhaps I should have been clearer. My point is that this has a similar feel to ABC’s “quiet success”…all form but no substance.
Thank you Robert. That was my point.
What I would really like to see is a revenue comparison of what the show would have made on Tuesday with it ratings last year vs what it makes this year on Thursdays this year with the current ratings.
What are the dollars involved?
Indeed, and apologies to Michael J, I misread your comment, you were referring to ABC!
Yes I was Bill, but I was trying to nice.
Honestly I don’t think so. Rather than doing all the stupid stuff Fox should just admit to making a mistake and moving it to another night. Noving it to Thursday was a dumb move to begin with, especially for a show that was unproven.
I think this is dumb cause if you don’t watch Fringe you have no clue who these weird looking bald people are handing out tobasco sauce. I’m sure people think it’s a new tobasco company or something lol.